I Need Your Help On A Tech Recommendation

It’s time to make a change and I need some advice.  Here’s the key problem:

For years (and year) I used a wireless headset to make phone calls.  My go-to earpiece was the Plantronics Voyager Legend.

It has phenomenal battery power, lasting up to 7 hours of talk time in between charges.  Why would I need a battery that long?  My job requires me to be on the phone quite a bit.  I like to connect with members of my team via phone when I can as opposed to just e-mail.  So, a long battery life is a big benefit for me.  The battery-pack case it comes with gives you another 14 hours or so.  I understand most folks don’t talk on their phone anywhere near as long as I do.  But, battery life is a big deal to me.  Voice recognition is solid, the unit is durable.  In short, there’s really nothing I don’t love about the Legend.

Two things happened that seemed to be unrelated, but lead me to where I sit today.  I decided to get an Apple Watch.  It was a great decision.  I use virtually none of the apps built for Apple Watch.  But, it has increased my fitness level.  I was skeptical it would, but the gamification aspect Apple deploys for exercise works for me.  My cholesterol levels are the lowest they’ve been in a decade. The Apple Watch wasn’t the only tech choice I made.

I switched to the AirPods earlier this year.  As you can tell from the title of that post, I was conflicted.  There were things I wanted to love about the AirPods.  And, things I really just hated.  As time has gone on, I’ve grown to really dislike the AirPods.  They frequently disconnect or have trouble connecting when I need to make calls.  And, the battery life is weak.  2 hours is really my high water mark before I have to recharge one of the earbuds.  Swapping isn’t easy, since that frequently causes the AirPods to disconnect from my phone.

Here’s the Problem

I switched back to the Plantronics Voyager Legend.  People were telling me the audio was horrible, even though I’d never had that problem with the Legend.  Ever.  I thought maybe it was just because I’d had my earpiece for a while.  So, I purchased a brand new one.  And experienced the exact same problem.  I was thoroughly perplexed.  Google provided me the solution.  Apparently, Apple Watch can interfere with bluetooth earpieces, though it works just fine with AirPods.

I’m not giving up my Apple Watch.  So, that leaves me with a few choices.  Here’s where I need your help:

1.  I can try out new headsets/earpieces to find one that the Apple Watch doesn’t interfere with.  I would love suggestions from people who have an earpiece they like.  Bonus points if it has kickass battery life.
2. I could upgrade to Apple Watch 4 and hope it fixes the problem (I have an Apple Watch 3).  I’d love to hear from someone who has an Apple Watch 4 who might have tried it with a different earpiece before I went down this road.  Expensive to buy a new watch and find out it doesn’t fix anything.
3. Maybe there’s some technical solution to my existing problem I just haven’t uncovered?

The Final Two Pennies

This one has seriously vexed me.  I don’t have a good solution and I really need one.  I’m hoping somebody out there has some good advice for me.  Thanks!

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